Lobsters are cognitively complex crustaceans whose welfare during capture, holding, and killing is increasingly scrutinized by scientists and regulators.
Lobster welfare has received significant scientific and regulatory attention following evidence of their cognitive complexity and nociceptive capacity. Traditional practices including live boiling, live splitting, and long-term live storage in tanks without feeding impose welfare costs that are now recognized as ethically problematic. The UK ban on boiling live sentient crustaceans represents a significant welfare advance, though enforcement and the development of accessible humane killing tools for commercial operations remain challenges. For fisheries and aquaculture, transitioning to electrical stunning before killing represents the most practical current improvement available to most operators.